Well, basically I want a laptop that can play games and be able to upgrade later.
I don't want something very expensive, around 1000-1200 euros.
For the screen, a 15.4" widescreen will suffice, but here comes the first problem. I can't find a way to compare the screens of the various manufacturers...They only list the max resolution which doesnt say much...I am satisfied with 1024x768(or whatever is the equivalent in widescreen), but I am worried about the responsiveness of the panel, something I can't see to compare...noone lists response times on these TFTs used in laptops...
For the CPU I would prefer an Athlon64, something low, like 3000+ as it is sufficient for gaming and the video card matters more... I don't mind it being an Intel, for example a 3.2 prescott would be fine...but not a Dothan since they are ridiculusly expensive or slow... (2.0 - 2.1 dothan very good but too expensive, 1.6-1.8 just good but prescott 3.0+ is better anyway plus HT for the same price...).
Now the video card is a major issue. Basically the way I see it, here is where the laptops are still behind desktops in performance.... Big steps have been made in the last year (8 pipelines mobility9800 and the new 12pipelines from both ati and nvidia) but its still behind and cant even put out half the speed of a SLI system in desktop.
Good thing is I don't need a mobile powerhouse...I only need to be able to play World of Warcraft which isn't very gpu intensive... in my desktop (barton 2500+ and radeon 9700pro) I could play perfectly with all settings maxed. Being a MMORPG it mostly needs a lot of RAM, which won't be a problem as long as the laptop is able to take up to 2Gb... I will start with 1Gb and maybe add more later. Now I don't know if a mobility radeon 9700 pro will be enough. Compared to desktop GPUs its more or less an 9600 pro (same pipelines(4) and 50 more in core speed, 50 less in memory speed so about hte same, maybe marginally better because core speed matters a little more than memory speed).I don't have any experience with WoW running on 9600pros, but I surely know the 9600 pro is very inferior to my 9700pro...sometimes about half the performance...So I don't know if mobility 9700pro will be enough. Now lets see the other options here :
1) the 12 pipe cards are very expensive, hard to find and really more than I need....so no point in getting one.
2) Mobility 9800 pro is more or less a desktop radeon 9700 pro, and a little better than it...This seems ideal, since combined with a better CPU than my barton 2500+, it will give better 3D performance than my current desktop so surely enough for my needs...
So I'd take the 9800 pro, but I can't find any laptop in europe using it right now....everyone is on the 9700 wagon....any help with that?
What about the mobile
Hard discs, optical drives etc...are unimportant since most manufactureres offer a wider variety.
And we come to the last point... UPGRADEABILITY!
I hear the new PCIx cards are somewhat upgradeable, by other PCIx cards. So getting a mobility radeon X800 you are somewhat futureprooff...
However this means you must get a PCIx DDR2 laptop which only Intel offers and is expensive (not to mention the x800 card's big cost...). And still it's not sure to be able to upgrade it, sicne they might some up with a new design or something.... I remember mobility radeon 9600 pros were the first to be supposedly able to be upgraded but I didn't see any such plan later on...
To sum up, I would like any links on laptops with mobility 9800 since I can't find any (only dell inspiron XPS which uses intel extreme edition and is ridiculusly expensive, no thx). I would like to hear your opinions on the TFT screens and how can I be sure it will be good for gaming (or how to compare between them) and if anyone has any experience with WoW in machines with mobility 9700 kind of performance (like desktop 9600 pro) how did it play (remember, resolution 1024x768)?
Last but not least, what's your opinion of upgradeability? Is a mobility 9800 upgradeable? Only the new 12pipe cards are?
I know I ask for a lot....I thank you in advance!
I don't want something very expensive, around 1000-1200 euros.
For the screen, a 15.4" widescreen will suffice, but here comes the first problem. I can't find a way to compare the screens of the various manufacturers...They only list the max resolution which doesnt say much...I am satisfied with 1024x768(or whatever is the equivalent in widescreen), but I am worried about the responsiveness of the panel, something I can't see to compare...noone lists response times on these TFTs used in laptops...
For the CPU I would prefer an Athlon64, something low, like 3000+ as it is sufficient for gaming and the video card matters more... I don't mind it being an Intel, for example a 3.2 prescott would be fine...but not a Dothan since they are ridiculusly expensive or slow... (2.0 - 2.1 dothan very good but too expensive, 1.6-1.8 just good but prescott 3.0+ is better anyway plus HT for the same price...).
Now the video card is a major issue. Basically the way I see it, here is where the laptops are still behind desktops in performance.... Big steps have been made in the last year (8 pipelines mobility9800 and the new 12pipelines from both ati and nvidia) but its still behind and cant even put out half the speed of a SLI system in desktop.
Good thing is I don't need a mobile powerhouse...I only need to be able to play World of Warcraft which isn't very gpu intensive... in my desktop (barton 2500+ and radeon 9700pro) I could play perfectly with all settings maxed. Being a MMORPG it mostly needs a lot of RAM, which won't be a problem as long as the laptop is able to take up to 2Gb... I will start with 1Gb and maybe add more later. Now I don't know if a mobility radeon 9700 pro will be enough. Compared to desktop GPUs its more or less an 9600 pro (same pipelines(4) and 50 more in core speed, 50 less in memory speed so about hte same, maybe marginally better because core speed matters a little more than memory speed).I don't have any experience with WoW running on 9600pros, but I surely know the 9600 pro is very inferior to my 9700pro...sometimes about half the performance...So I don't know if mobility 9700pro will be enough. Now lets see the other options here :
1) the 12 pipe cards are very expensive, hard to find and really more than I need....so no point in getting one.
2) Mobility 9800 pro is more or less a desktop radeon 9700 pro, and a little better than it...This seems ideal, since combined with a better CPU than my barton 2500+, it will give better 3D performance than my current desktop so surely enough for my needs...
So I'd take the 9800 pro, but I can't find any laptop in europe using it right now....everyone is on the 9700 wagon....any help with that?
What about the mobile
Hard discs, optical drives etc...are unimportant since most manufactureres offer a wider variety.
And we come to the last point... UPGRADEABILITY!
I hear the new PCIx cards are somewhat upgradeable, by other PCIx cards. So getting a mobility radeon X800 you are somewhat futureprooff...
However this means you must get a PCIx DDR2 laptop which only Intel offers and is expensive (not to mention the x800 card's big cost...). And still it's not sure to be able to upgrade it, sicne they might some up with a new design or something.... I remember mobility radeon 9600 pros were the first to be supposedly able to be upgraded but I didn't see any such plan later on...
To sum up, I would like any links on laptops with mobility 9800 since I can't find any (only dell inspiron XPS which uses intel extreme edition and is ridiculusly expensive, no thx). I would like to hear your opinions on the TFT screens and how can I be sure it will be good for gaming (or how to compare between them) and if anyone has any experience with WoW in machines with mobility 9700 kind of performance (like desktop 9600 pro) how did it play (remember, resolution 1024x768)?
Last but not least, what's your opinion of upgradeability? Is a mobility 9800 upgradeable? Only the new 12pipe cards are?
I know I ask for a lot....I thank you in advance!
